Mexico Withdraws its Reservations to Three Legal Instruments of the Inter-American System Deposited at the OAS

The Government of Mexico today withdrew its reservations to three legal instruments of the Inter-American System deposited at the Organization of American States (OAS), in a ceremony at the headquarters of the Organization in Washington DC, headed by the Secretary General of the hemispheric institution, José Miguel Insulza, and which included the participation of the Permanent Representative of Mexico to the OAS, Emilio Rabasa, the Chair of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Saint Lucia, Sonia Johnny, and other representatives of the member countries.

Ambassador Rabasa delivered to Secretary General Insulza, in his character as chief representative of the depositary body of the three Inter-American treaties, the corresponding instruments of withdrawal of reservation which Mexico had made to the Convention on the Status of Aliens; the Inter-American Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons, and the Declaration for the Recognition of the Contentious Jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, as provided for in the American Convention on Human Rights.

Secretary General Insulza thanked Ambassador Rabasa for the withdrawal of the reservations to the three legal instruments, noting that “the OAS would like for all countries to sign and ratify the conventions” and “I hope that they will soon be free of reservations.”

The OAS Secretary General said that, with this step, “the will of the Government of Mexico to substantively broaden the protection of the rights of the people within the country is shown,” at the same time that he highlighted that the act “is one more demonstration of the full commitment of Mexico to the validity of human rights and the instruments of the Inter-American system.”

Ambassador Rabasa said that with this action his government ratifies its commitment to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all people in Mexico. “With the withdrawal of these reservations we broaden the reach of the protection that, with respect to my country, are provided by the Inter-American treaties referring to all people –nationals and foreign nationals- under its jurisdiction,” he said. The Mexican diplomat added that this decision is one of the results of the “profound process that Mexico has been carrying out to update its normative framework to the highest international standards in terms of human rights; a process that began in 2011 until today with the approval of constitutional and legislative reforms of great depth.”

Moreover, Ambassador Rabasa highlighted that with this action his country complies with various recommendations and decisions from organs and mechanisms of the Inter-American System of Human Rights and the Universal System, “with which we reiterate our policy of complete openness and cooperation.”